


Trust

by BXVAce, SerenityRose19



Series: The Mandalorian Gunslinger [5]
Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Crossover, MST3K References, Mandalorian Culture, Mercenaries, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27028780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BXVAce/pseuds/BXVAce, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenityRose19/pseuds/SerenityRose19
Summary: In the aftermath of his run in with House Renliss, Ace is set to do a job with a group of bounty hunters and New Republic authorities. However much to his surprise, he is teamed up with another Mandalorian with a dark reputation.
Series: The Mandalorian Gunslinger [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047793
Kudos: 3





	1. Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Hello,
> 
> Before we start, I'd like to announce that this story is co written by my best friend and Baby Sister Serenity. We've been working on creating a character for her and I'm really hoping I am bring her to life the way she hope. More info at the end of the chapter.

A lone ship cruised along the cluster of planets in the outer reaches of the galaxy. The Mandalorian pilot sat quietly in her pilot chair as she plotted the course to their future destination. In the dark cockpit, the lights from the control panels showed their armor was pristine and glossy with no blemishes, no weathering, just a clear shining paint scheme. Even in the dark, the coloring was present, a mixture of red, yellow and orange laying overtop a blood red suit, which looked almost black in the dark. The light showed that her visor was green, but again the dark made it look soulless black.

Right before she was ready to make the jump into hyperspace, her comlink rang out to receive a transmission. She activated it and a hologram of Gratina Renliss projected onto her deck. The transmission said, “Ladies, I am Gratina Renliss, emissary of House Renliss, an organization strictly for female bounty hunters that only takes on commissions on male targets. My organization is going through a resurgence and I am in need of new recruits who are willing to join our cause. We only strive for the best of the galaxy’s finest female hunters and we wish for them to join our ranks. There will be multiple opportunities, but this first one is of the utmost importance.”

A projection of a Mandalorian profile was shown. She said, “You are to locate this Mandalorian who goes by the name of Ace. His armor is green and red.” Her image returned and continued, “I understand that hunting a Mandalorian is risky, but we are doing away with certain methods in our past and are encouraging any new recruits to use any means necessary to capture Ace dead or alive. If terminated, proof must be provided.

“Now, our operation is small so we currently can’t guarantee an ample monetary reward, but we will offer his beskar as collateral. It is all yours to use with no payment request from us. Should you choose to take on this task and wish to join our ranks, we will promise security and assurance. Once we acquire enough members, we will be able to return to our former glory as a respected bounty hunter guild as we did in the time of the Empire. Now, good luck.”

The Mandalorian rewind the message to the profile of the Mandalorian and studied his looks. She recognized him as what most other Mandalorians called Griku'r, The Rogue. She herself also kept to herself, but she was still privy to how the other Mandalorians saw one another. She had heard stories about Griku’r, but she never gave him much thought.

However, the prospect of beskar’gam was enticing. She had no interest in Renliss’ offer, but she never went after a target that didn’t have a mark on them. Now, she had reason to go after him. To make matters even better, she was assigned on a mission with Ace and other bounty hunters. This was practically handed to her. She continued on with her co-ordnance and her ship took off into hyperspace.

Ace hated these coop missions, especially when the New Republic is involved. He always preferred to work alone, even when he had to work with other bounty hunters, but most of these New Republic authority officers were either former Rebel Alliance troopers or a bunch of gung-ho kids who spent some time in the Imperial Academy that dropped out to join the Alliance. Some of these morons in blue and white uniforms with those ridiculous helmets probably had no idea how to handle a blaster.

To make matters worse, the Guild sent some rookie hunters with them. He had back up, like the Trandoshan Strax’un, the best hunter on Garduun. The two worked a few times and had some respect for one another, but they were far from friends. They both made it clear they didn’t trust one another, but there was certainly respect. The other wasn’t a hunter, but he was a Guild member. He was their liaison for the New Republic named Cadicus Monty. Monty was an odd fellow, dressed in a fancy black suit and having only a pistol at his side. Ace never met him before, but he didn’t like the way he looked. A Guild member was a hunter, not a stuffed shirt. 

Then there was the last hunter. The mullet and mustache was undeniable. That’s Zap Rowsdower, one of the most recognized hunters in the entire galaxy. He was older, but not too old. He had been around for a while and worked for not just the Empire, but the Hutts, Crimson Dawn, the Pikes and Black Sun. Word has it that after Alderaan, he wanted to go straight and joined the Guild. Ace never worked with him so he had no idea what he was truly like, but the scowl on his face showed he hardly ever smiles. He took his job seriously and that’s what Ace was looking for.

Then there were the rookies. Two humans, one Twi’lek and a Mirialan, both the Twi’lek and Mirialan were female. They were all young too, looking either late teens or early twenties. Far too young to be made credible hunters. If this was a coop with the New Republic, then it might be too much for these four and if they die on this mission, the blood will be on the hands of the New Republic.

The captain of the officers stepped up to the podium and announced, “Okay, we should get started. We’re missing one hunter but when she shows up I’ll personally brief her.”

Ace wasn’t aware that another hunter was joining them. Must be a solo hunter the New Republic hired. But just after the captain mentioned her, the doors to the meeting room hissed open and a woman Mandalorian in clean orange, red and yellow armor walked in. Ace looked her way, surprised to see another Mandalorian. Not only that, her armor was cut differently than others. Unlike his, which was cut after the classic shock trooper, or the designs found by the Mandalorian covert cults found in the galaxy’s underworld, hers was designed by the Mandalorian elites that call themselves The Mandalorian Legacy. They were extremely powerful and secretive, only one being known since she was deemed the most dangerous female bounty hunter in the galaxy. Chances are, this was her.

She walked past Ace, she was around his height and walked with the same swagger as him, bold and confident. As she walked past him, the two match glares at each other. She walked to the far side of the room with all eyes on her, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

“Well, speak of the devil.” the captain chuckled nervously. Clearing his throat, he continued on, “Now, uh, now that we’re all here, I think I can go ahead and begin. The New Republic has been cracking down on ex-Empire, but that has also allowed certain forms of crimes to rise in the underworld. With efforts to hunt down any Imperial support, spice runners and death stick dealers have been using this to push their narcotics onto the public. This is not allowed. So, the New Republic is offering the Bounty Hunter’s Guild a commission to help us in the removal of said forces.”

One officer raised their hand and the captain allowed him to speak, “With all due respect captain, but why do we need the help of some cowboys?”

“Because some of us have been around for a long time, kid.” Rowsdower said before the captain could say anything. Stepping forward, he said, “We know how they operate and where they’ll be. So I think a little gratitude would be nice.”

“Well said, well said.” the captain said, trying to defuse the situation. He turned to Monty and said, “I’d like to introduce Cadicus Monty, our liaison to the Guild.”

“Thank you, captain.” Monty stepped forward and explained the Guild’s place in the mission, “Like our associate explained, with the New Republic spending most of their time tracking down ex-Empire, the Guild has agreed to do a commission to help in the seizing of illegal substances plaguing the underworld. I have with me a few members of the Guild. Our Trandoshan hunter Strax’un.”

Strax’un stepped forward and gave a slight snarl and hiss, making many officers nervous.

Monty cleared his throat and introduced, “Rowsdower, Zap Rowsdower. Has done work with the Syndicates and the Empire and has a vast knowledge of the galaxy’s criminal underworld.”

Rowsdower only gave a slight nod.

Pointing Ace, Monty introduced him, “The Mandalorian in the back is Ace. One of our best trackers and has a record of honesty and valor.”

“Honesty and valor doesn’t make up for legacy.” Strax’un hissed. Ace said nothing.

Finally, Monty introduced the late comer, “And finally we have one of our prized hunters. The best female bounty hunter in the Mid and Outer Rim. She hasn’t given us her name so due to her armor color, we give her the codename Summer.”

There were murmurs and gasps from the officers, no reaction from the veterans and whispers between the rookies. Ace on the other hand, just gave her a small glance. He knew it, this was the one he heard rumors about. Summer, the most vicious bounty hunter outside the Core and Inner Rim. Stories told of where she went, death and hell followed her. Very few marks came in alive and those who did begged for death.

“Alright, that’s enough!” the captain called out. He turned to Monty and asked, “If you could introduce the rest of your team.”

Monty pointed to the rookies and introduced, “We will be including some rookies for their final tasks into the Guild.”

Ace tore his gaze from Summer and watched Monty introduce the rookies. One human, a young man with dark skin and braided black hair stood forward and Monty introduced him, “This is Draven Skylancer. Raised on Tatooine and brought up by smugglers. So far, his greatest attribute is his quick draw and even quicker response time.”

Draven stepped back and the other human, tanned with blonde hair and cocky smirk stepped forward.

“Caven Precev, Corellian. Father and mother were wealthy Imperials who died on the first Death Star. Sole survivor of his family line.”

“And future legend.” Precev cockily added. He looked to the female rookies and blew them kisses, disgusting them. He looked at Rowsdower and asked, “So, ‘Rowsdower’? Is that a stupid name?”

Rowsdower reached under his overcoat for his pistol, but Strax’un stopped him.

Turning back to the officers, Precev proclaimed, “You’re looking at the new head honcho of the Guild! You might as well just hand the victory over to me.”

“Well, this is your first time, Caven. Earn your stripes first.” Monty told him, stepping next to him and ordering him to step back. Giving Monty a defiant smile, Precev stepped back but still didn’t stop waving his pride. Monty cleared his throat and introduced the Mirialan girl, “Lacy Turrel, trained in many forms of hand to hand combat.”

Lacy stepped forward and gave everyone a bow. Precev looked down at her lower region and gave a quiet perverted howl, but it wasn’t quiet enough for her not to hear. In response, she did a backflip and swung her leg up, the tip of her boot barely touching Precev’s throat.

Ace was impressed. If that kick collided with his throat, Lacy could have snapped Precev’s trachea. Precev stood nervously at Lacy’s mercy, shaking and gasping for his breath.

“Future legend and new head honcho, everyone.” Ace said, making the room erupt in laughter.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Monty shouted. Calming down and ordering Lacy to stand down. She did and got back in line. Mony introduced the final rookie, “La’shing, Twi’lek covert and another expert in hand to hand. She’s also amazing with knife combat.”

La’shing happily waved at everyone, indicating that she was a perky young girl.

Monty said, “Now, I will turn the podium over to the captain and he will brief us on the mission.”

The captain stepped back up and thanked Monty before going over the mission, “Now, our mission is to neutralize a large group of death stick makers on the small moon of Salton. For those who don’t know, Salton is a desert moon surrounded by four suns so there is no night time. There is water, but it’s really salty and it smells really bad. Our intel shows that these dealers are not only consuming their own products, but are also drinking the water, shrinking their brains and they look less like sentient creatures and more like something out of a horror story. They have also developed a form of language that no one, not even the most reliable translate droids can understand. The landscape is littered with ship parts and there are active mud volcanoes everywhere. The lack of groundwater or bedrock has also led to the creations of small sinkholes so it’s best to watch your step.” A holomap of the planet war projected and a few spots were marked. The captain explained, “The highlighted locations are known bases of operation. We take those out, the death stick makers will lose all of their resources. Their locations are filled with crops of ixetel plants that are altered to grow in the desert climate.”

The holomap display faded and the captain was about to continue when Strax’un interrupted him, “Are we going to finish talking or are we going to get moving?”

Monty was about to reprimand him and Rowsdower added, “I hate to admit it, but Strax’un’s right. We’re accomplishing nothing just sitting here.”

Monty shook his head and said, “We need to map out a plan. These are dangerous people.”

“Dangerous people, huh?” Strax’un smiled. He looked over the officers and said, “I eat dangerous people.”

Draven spoke out for the first time, “If these people are drinking the Salton water and taking their own drugs, one bite might poison you.”

Lacy gave a quiet chuckle, but quickly quieted herself when everyone looked at her. The only one who gave her a positive response was Draven who smiled at her. Ace sighed and shook his head, realizing that the two were attracted to each other.

Monty continued to plan out, but Ace already had his way of dealing with the death stick makers. He did it his way and no other way. His attention was on Summer. She was standing against the wall with her arms crossed and head down, but he knew her eyes were on him. He could feel them, glaring daggers into him. This wasn’t the first time a Mandalorian would give him a death glare since he prefered to work alone, like so many others. But Summer, she was different. As he felt her eyes on him, there wasn’t anger or shame. There was something else.

She was hunting him. He knew that feeling all too well, the feeling of someone watching their target like a wild animal ready to strike. He had given that look to many of his own targets. But why?

“Any questions?” the captain asked, drawing Ace out of his thoughts. He looked up at the podium and saw Monty and the captain standing before the officers. The captain said, “Alright, we move out in one hour. Ready tour gear and prepare to head out.”

Everyone stood up and all went to the armory. The bounty hunters didn’t have to worry since they were allowed to keep their weapons on their persons. Ace took the opportunity to observe Summer’s. The main weapon she had was a short scaled pulse rifle slung over her shoulder. It was modified heavily with a heavy alloy chassis that he had a hard time making out the model. Whatever it was, he could only guess that it was a powerful weapon. Her thigh guards had holsters welded to them, holding a dark blue pistol in each holster. Finally, her gauntlets were littered with weapons, such as dart launchers and knife slots, but her right gauntlet had a small pulse disruptor cannon attached on the top of the bracer. 

Not only her weaponry, but the rumors were true. Her armor was glossy and unblemished. It wasn’t because she maintained it, but the Legacy had always used a rare form of beskar found deep in the mines of Mandalore. This was pure beskar, that was often melted and molded with the paint of the wearer’s choice, leaving it permanent. But her armor told a bit of a story. He heard other rumors about the Legacy having mostly the same color scheme, orange, red and yellow. One rumor he heard was that was because that was implemented by their enigmatic leader, but these were rumors. But if that wasn’t the case, why did she have her armor like this? Red meant she was honoring a parent, like he had red on his armor. The orange was for the love of life, yet she has a reputation for viciously ending life. Then the yellow was out of remembrance. Maybe it was all clan colors, but even then a color scheme in Mandalorian traditions, whether it was clan related or the nomads, was sacred. If she truly was this cold blooded hunter, then why does she brand these colors? What was she hiding?


	2. Mandalorian vs Mandalorian

The Republic frigate soared through hyperspace towards Salton, carrying the small battalion and the band of bounty hunters. The officers were all in the locker rooms preparing themselves for the near at hand raid on ravaging death stick droogs. In the quarters that the bounty hunters were given, they weren’t even bothered to check their weapons. Strax’un and Rowsdower sat at the small table taking sips of the Corellian whiskey. Monty lounged around reading a paperback novel about the Jedi during the time of the Old Republic. The rookies were carrying on, all of them getting tired of Caven’s bragging and antics.

Ace was the only one checking his gear. He had already polished his kunai knives and was now cleaning his F-11D rifle. He didn’t try to make it obvious, but when he would have to slightly turn for anything in his cleaning kit, he’d give Summer slight glances. She was sitting behind him on a stool, arms and legs crossed and not even budging to give him a glance. Even now, he could still feel her eyes on him. He knew that she was hunting him, but he was used to that. This isn’t the first time a Mandalorian would come after him and he was certain that she was waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The only advantage she had was that she was the first Legacy he ever faced. This could be a challenge.

Caven stood up and walked over to Ace and asked, “So, uh, where’d you get your gear?”

Ace said nothing.

“That looks like a stormtrooper’s blaster. You shoot like one?” Caven then hysterically chuckled and looked back at the rookies, who all rolled their eyes. He looked back over at Ace, who was pointing his blaster at Caven.

“You want to find out?” Ace asked.

Ace and Caven glared at each other for a moment when Caven pretended to lunge at Ace. Ace didn’t so much as flinch, but Caven scoffed and walked away. He went over to Summer, who was still sitting like stone. Once again, he scoffed.

“And look at this one. She thinks she’s so special.” He got close to her helmet and asked, “What are you really hiding under there?”

“Precev, leave her alone.” Draven warned.

“Why? What is she going to do?” Carven asked. Then he did something that very few dared to do. He grabbed the edge of her helmet.

The room then had the high pitch screech ring out when Summer grabbed his arm and locked it behind him. It all happened so fast that no one saw her even stand up to grab him. She began to pull harder on his arm and he cried out in pain, tears flowing from his eyes.

Not looking up from his book, Monty dryly said, “Let him go, Summer. He’s just a dumb kid.”

Summer instead pulled even harder.

“Summer!”

Finally, Summer let Caven go and he gripped his arm. Thankfully it wasn’t broken, but he was still making a fuss over it. Instead of responding to his complaining, Summer just sat back down. Caven continued to cry until Rowsdower grabbed him by his arm and threw him back at the rookies’ table. He had stopped crying and glared at Rowsdower, who didn’t even look back at him.

Caven then looked between Ace and Summer, neither of which paid him any attention. Ace was working on his weapons again and Summer was back to just sitting and staring into space. That was when Caven had an idea.

He looked back at the other rookies and asked, “Who says we need two Mandalorians?”

Giving a warning glare, Draven asked, “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying nothing. But, what if that fancy armor is all talk?”

“Caven, don’t.” Lacy told him.

“What if that armor isn’t all they say and they get hit and die? We might want to be sure.”

Draven said, “Caven, you try anything and you’re as good as dead.”

In response, Caven gave a snarky chortle and stood straight up.

Ace had heard all that the young hunter was saying and reached for his belt. He opened his pouch and slowly pulled out a kunai. He was waiting for Caven to make the first move. He could hear the leather of Caven’s jacket creak as he reached for his blaster. That was the moment to act.

Both hunters turned, Ace ready to throw his knife and Caven drawing his blaster. However, neither made their move. Caven’s face burst into flame, accompanied by the loud sound of a blaster. Caven fell back dead, a black scorch mark where his face used to be.

Everyone looked over and saw Summer with her arm up and the disruptor on her bracer was smoking.

Looking back down at the body, Strax’un asked, “Anyone going to eat that?”

Monty nonchalantly said, “We’ll let the ship’s crew clean that up.”

Not a single person cared that Caven was lying dead on the ground.

Ace was relaxed and looked down at Summer, who was looking right at him. Neither said anything, same as usual, but she tightened her fist. Ace knew it was a threat towards him, an intimidation tactic. However, he wasn’t falling for it. Instead, he took a deep breath, lifting his upper body with it and relaxed when he let it go. It was his response. He wasn’t backing down.

In response, Summer relaxed her fist and nodded. They were going to come to blows, but now was not the time. He knew that if he were to have an edge, she’d have to make the first move.

* * *

The suns hung high over the desert landscape. Like the captain said, the moon surface was littered with various ship parts and destroyed carriers. The mud volcanoes plopped hot bubbling liquid sand. The sea nearby was tannish green and thick, crashing waves onto the shore. Not too far from the sea was a massive rover made from various vehicles, such as the wheels of a HAVw A5 Juggernaut welded to the undercarriage of an AT-AT walker, legs removed to accommodate the wheels. Inside, three people were working on mixing death sticks from the ixetel extract.

People was putting it mildly. What were once ordinary people were replaced by green skinned, dangerously thin and greasy haired beings. The flesh of these droogs were littered with sores and boils from constant death stick usage. They were jittery and their black teeth gnashed. Their eyes were bloodshot and twitchy, looking down at the lab sets to produce more death sticks. Their clothing was scrapped and covered in various parts for armor. Outside, similar looking droogs stood guard by the many, all carrying blasters.

Coming up from behind the rover, La’shing snuck out and grabbed one, covering his mouth and sticking a knife into his back. On the other side, Summer stepped out with a vibro-axe in her hand. The nearest droog turned and jumped at her sights. He turned to call to the others, but Summer did a butterfly kick before slicing him. The others saw her and La’shing and shouted incoherently, such as mentioned by the captain during the briefing.

As they fired, La’shing ran for cover, but Summer pressed on. They shot at her, but her armor protected her. Some charged her, but she did not let that slow her down. One tried to club her with his blaster, but she dodged him and stuck the blade of her axe into his ribs and kicked him off. More ran after her, but coming up from behind the rover came the rest of the hunters and the New Republic troopers came running out, blasters firing. 

Ace and Rowsdower tried to open the rover, but the door was sealed. Inside, knowing about the chaos outside, the droogs began to pack up the lab and one made her way to the cockpit of the rover. She powered it up and Rowsdower and Ace jumped off of it. One droog climbed to the top of the rover and manned a large turret cannon.

Summer sliced the final droog, but the turret targeted her and fired. It missed but the explosion sent her flying. The last droog peaked out the door and tossed a thermal detonator Summer’s way. She looked up and saw it plummeting her way. She was too late to jump out of the way to get away from it’s blast. She thought she was going to die.

Then Ace jumped next to her and used his blaster to bat it back into the air. She looked up at him for a moment, then back to see the detonator fly right back to the rover as it rolled away. After a couple of minutes and it got some distance, it exploded. The detonator landed inside the rover. Everyone ran for cover to dodge the debris and the shockwave. After a few moments of debris falling all around them, they all stepped out. Ace, Summer, Draven and Rowsdower looked out to where the rover once was, now just a pile of scrap in the middle of a crater.

Draven commented, “That was a big explosion for a thermal detonator.”

Rowsdower looked down at him and said, “That was a mobile death stick lab, kid. Those labs carry all kinds of combustible chemicals.”

Ace rested his blaster over his shoulder and said, “I could never do that again to save my life.”

He looked down at Summer, who was already looking at him. With everything that was happening, he couldn’t tell if the aura she was giving off was gratitude or she still wanted to kill him. Not that he was expecting gratitude from her.

Monty walked over with the group with the Republic guard and told Rowsdower, “This is point one. I’ll be taking the captain and his men and take point two. You and your team will take point three.”

Rowsdower’s face dropped and he groaned, “Point three is the main lab. That’s going to be heavily guarded.”

“You have two Mandalorians on your side. It will be fine.”

Before Rowsdower could retort, Monty went over to the guard and ordered them to move out. They all left the bounty hunters alone in the area, Rowsdower disappointingly shook his head.

He turned and told the group, “Okay, we need to make our way to point three. It’s going to be a long walk.”

La’shing gasped, “Walk? Are you serious? It’s hot out here!”

Strax’un told her, “We need the element of surprise, young one. This is a lesson for you and your team. Don’t be stupid like Caven.”

“He’s right. This is the opportunity to teach you how to survive in extreme conditions.” Rowsdower added. He looked to Ace and Summer and asked, “Do you two have anything to add?”

Neither said anything.

“Alright. Let’s move.”

Ace was about to walk when he saw a shadow cast over him. He quickly turned to see that Summer had leaped up into the air and was ready to strike him down with her vibro-axe. He quickly dodged her and rolled on the ground. He looked back up at her and pointed his blaster at her, but she knocked it out of his hand with her axe. When it hit the ground, it split in two. He drew his pistols and shot at her, but the bolts dinged against her armor as it absorbed them. She spun her axe and the staff handle knocked the blasters out of his hand. He rolled backwards and jumped to his feet. He reached down and pulled his vibro-knife from his boot leg and took stance. She was ready to face him now.

The other bounty hunters stood back and watched the Mandalorians engage in their fight. La’shing and Lacy were about to run and join in, but Draven, Strax’un and Rowsdower stopped them.

“No, stay back!” Rowsdower told them, grabbing La’shing’s arm. He told them both, “You get between Mandalorians when they fight and you won’t come out alive.”

While Summer had her axe, it wasn’t strong enough to slice Ace’s beskar armor. Granted he was much more exposed than her, with his armor designed after the classic shock trooper design and she was more covered in her Legacy design. Despite that, he did get a few slashes in, not that anyone could tell. The Legacy armor lived up to its reputation for it being impervious to blemishes and flaws. He felt it when his blade scraped across her armor. It almost felt like his knife was going to snap in half when he struck.

It also didn’t help that Ace was merely a brawler, self-taught in the Outer Rim while learning how to fight in underground fights for money. Summer was more skilled and disciplined. He recognized it from the fighting days and saw that between her acrobatics and weapons combat she was trained in Juyo. While it wasn’t a form he could replicate, he could counter.

Summer swung the handle of the axe at Ace’s face and he grabbed it, shoving it back into her face, knocking her back and making her lose grip of it. He tossed it and was ready to plunge his knife into her neck, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her so she could bash her helmet against his. It didn’t hurt but the impact disoriented him and he stumbled back, dropping his knife. He climbed back to his feet and she swung her fist at him, clashing against the face of his helmet. He recovered and replied with his own blow to her abdomen, making her grunt in pain. She kneed him in his abdomen and threw him to the ground. She tried to stomp him but he rolled away. He reached his fist up and fired his flame thrower at her but her armor and suit protected her. He should have known better because she slapped his arm away then kicked him across the face. He rolled and tried to get back to his feet, but she kicked him in the ribs. It didn’t hurt, in fact it gave him momentum to jump back up. Once he was back up, she did a corkscrew kick but he blocked it and grabbed her leg to throw her.

When Summer landed, the ground around her began to crack. She realized what was going on, it was a sinkhole. The ground broke open and she broke through the surface. She only went a little ways down when something grabbed onto her. She looked up and saw Ace on the edge of the hole holding onto her arm. He began to pull her up when the ground under him crumbled and gave way. He slipped into the hole and both Mandalorians plunged into darkness.


	3. Bonding

Darkness and pain.

That’s what Ace woke up to. He groaned and waited for pain to ease before he tried to lift himself off the ground. He pushed himself up, but he felt an extremely sharp pain in his arm. After he fell back down, he rolled over and hoisted himself up and looked at his arm. There was a deep gash in his bicep, possibly from hitting one of the many stalactites hanging from the surface of the cave.

He took a moment to look around the cave. He hadn’t fallen far and could see the opening of the sinkhole up about one hundred feet up. The light from the sun above lit up the cave slightly and he could see it wasn’t vast. If he could fire his whipcord he could try to climb up, but with his wound it would be impossible. To make matters worse, the pain was putting pressure on him and his breathing was stifled by his helmet. He was gasping for air, but dared not to take his helmet off.

Then he remembered, he fell down here with Summer.

As if reading his mind, she stepped out of the shadows, walking and standing like she hadn’t suffered a scratch from the fall. She was carrying her pulse rifle in her hands. Ace knew that with him in this much pain, he would have a hard time fighting back. Plus, the gash in his arm would be a major target for her. He had no choice. Whatever she had in mind for him, he was powerless to stop. He could only sit there and wait for oblivion.

She lifted her rifle slightly, then propped it against a rock next to her. She strolled over to Ace, who was confused as to why she had not killed him, and knelt down next to him. She reached up and her fingers nearly brushed against the bottom of his helmet when he slapped her hand away.

She tilted her head for a second.

“You need to breathe.”

Ace looked up at her. She had finally spoken. She again reached up, but he pulled back. Giving a sigh of annoyance, she reached up and grabbed the bottom of her helmet. Ace watched in astonishment as she slipped her helmet off. Once it was off, he saw her face sticking out of her balaclava. She was fair skinned with midnight blue eyes, a scar going over her left eye. When she pulled the balaclava back, her hair popped out, showing that it was multicolored. The front of her hair was blonde while the back was dark with purple highlights. It fell right down to her shoulders.

Once her hair was free, she looked at him and told him, “I showed you mine. Now show me yours.”

She reached up and gripped his helmet, this time he didn’t stop her. She slipped his helmet off and he took a breath of air. It may have been foul air, it was still better. Once his breath was caught, he looked over at Summer and saw her fumbling around her belt, pulling out different objects from a pouch. He noticed a bandage roll, a syringe and a tube with a glowing blue fluid. She then gripped his arm under his wound really hard.

Ace gasped, “Hey, take it easy! Take-AH!”

She stuck the syringe into his arm violently then slipped the tube into it. The fluid was injected right into him and he felt a cooling sensation flow through his arm. He gasped and breathed harshly from the pain.

“Relax, it’s kolto. It’ll heal you.” Summer told him. As she wrapped the bandage around his wound, she told him, “It’ll stop any infection and mend any of your injuries. You hit the ground pretty hard.”

Ace gave a breath and nodded. While she was finishing up, he asked her, “You could have killed me, you know. Why didn’t you?”

She scoffed and said, “I’m no murderer. Killing you while you were out wouldn’t be honorable. Besides, you saved my life. Twice. I owe you mine.”

“You don’t owe me anything. To let you die like that would have been wrong. Someone like you deserves to die a warrior’s death.”

She smirked and asked, “Do you want to give me that?”

“Depends. You still going to come after me?”

Summer thought for a moment before looking up at him and shaking her head no.

“Then I have no quarrel with you then.” Ace said, picking up his helmet.

Summer picked up her helmet and they both sat down on the nearest rocks closest to them. She picked up her rifle and began to examine it closely. Ace was interested in her rifle. It was sleek and practically flawless, but he never saw the model before. That was strange since as a Mandalorian, weapons were part of his faith. He should have a fair amount of knowledge on blasters and rifles, but he never saw anything like hers. It didn’t have any exposed components, just a slot on the side possibly for cartridges and what looked like a compartment for a retractable scope.

As she pulled out a cloth for the rifle, she asked him, “Something on your mind?”

Ace replied, “Sorry, I’m just fascinated by your rifle. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Made it myself. Made it from various parts that I’ve collected over the years.”

“What kind of rifle is that?”

“It’s a pulse rifle, but I modified it to also fire slugs. Slugs come in handy while fighting heavily armored targets.”

“What’s the chassis made of?”

“You don’t recognize it? And you call yourself a Mandalorian.” Summer snarked, making Ace sneer. She smirked and said, “It’s pure beskar.”

Ace’s eyebrows raised and he replied, “Really? How’d you get it to that color?”

“If I told you, then I’d have no choice but to kill you.” Summer scanned Ace up and down and asked, “You are a true Mandalorian, are you not? Or are you a Foundling?”

“No, I was born in the Mandalorian system.” Ace said as he looked at his own reflection in his visor. He sighed, “I was born in the icy cold mountains of Krownest a few years before the end of the Clone Wars.”

Summer nodded her head and said, “You come from one of the mountain clans. You are either a Priest, Dhrea or Bress.”

Ace looked up at her and said, “I don’t know you enough to tell you that.”

“Fair enough but your armor is telling. The green means you take your duty seriously. The red means you're honoring a father or a parent.” She held her helmet up and said, “Most of my armor is clan coloring, but I have the red for the same reason.”

“What colors are clan colors?”

“We brand the orange to remember that life is important. You treasure it and protect it. Not just yours, but others.”

Ace raised his eyebrow and asked, “One of the most vicious bounty hunters not only in the annals of the Guild but of all Mando’ade is taught to value life?”

She smirked and replied, “I’m only vicious to my enemies. I’m sure you of all people could understand that.”

“I suppose. And the yellow?”

“As guardians of life, the Legacy is encouraged to remember those we couldn’t save.”

Ace gave a slight nod and said, “I can respect that.”

Summer looked down and gave her helmet a somber look. She brushed her fingers across the green visor and said, “Those two are the only colors we need to brand. We can choose any other colors we wish. I wanted red, to remember my parents.”

“Did they die?”

“I don’t know. I was separated from them when I was an infant. I was born on Mandalore right at the climax of the war and was separated from my family during the Great Purge.”

“How were you separated?”

“From what I heard from my foster parents, I must have been placed in a landing pod because I landed on Dantooine. They took me in and raised me until I was ten years old.”

“What happened?”

Summer smiled and said, “My master found me. She had a copy of the registers of Mandalore from the Purge and found my name. She took me in and took me away to our first stronghold on Kohlma and trained me in the old ways of Mando’a.”

Ace nodded, but truth be told he never truly cared for the more traditional forms of Mando’ade. He was raised to be a mercenary, not a zealot. However, hearing her story, Ace could understand why Summer is the way she is. Legacy, from what he heard, was like the cults of the underworld like Children of the Watch, but not as strict with their rules.

Ace asked her, “Was training rigorous?”

Summer scoffed and placed her helmet on the rock. She stood up and uncoupled her left bracer. After placing it next to her helmet, she pulled off her glove and rolled up her sleeve. She held her arm out, showing Ace the amount of scars on her arm. Her arm was mostly red and covered in marks, burns, slash scars and many other markings. Her arm didn’t even look like a human’s arm. It looked like a new species yet discovered. This was a clear indication that the Legacy pushed their own soldiers to the limit and beyond.

Rolling her sleeve back down, Summer replied, “You tell me.”

After locking the bracer and glove, she sat down and sulked.

Ace looked at her for a moment then said, “Dhrea.”

She looked back up at him.

“That’s my family name. Dhrea. My name is Kain Dhrea.”

Summer blankly stared at him for a moment, then smiled and said, “My name Ren Velatina.”

“Velatina, huh? I know that name.”

“Most of the other Mandalorians know you as Griku’r.”

Ace scoffed and said, “Yeah, I know. ‘The Rogue’, like I’m the only one who acts without a clan. Plenty went nomad, like Fett.”

Summer nodded in agreement and was ready to say something when a rope fell down from above. They both looked up and saw the others had tossed down a rope for them to climb out.

Summer had pulled her balaclava back up and her and Ace slipped their helmets back on. Ace was the first to climb with Summer keeping her distance. Once he reached the top, a hand reached down and he grabbed on. The person pulled him back up and he was thankful to have his visor blocking the suns. The transition from the dark pit into the brightly lit desert would have burned his eyes something fierce. He looked to see that it was Rowsdower that pulled him out of the pit. Once Ace was on his feet, Rowsdower pulled Summer up. Both Mandalorians looked around and saw that the others had already left.

“Where are the others?” Ace asked.

Rowsdower told him, “Strax’un took the rookies and led them into the desert. He didn’t feel like waiting around for you two.”

“Yep, sounds about right.” Ace sarcastically remarked. He asked, “Why did you stay?”

“I’ve left enough people behind in my life. I’m done with that.” Rowsdower looked back at Summer, who tilted her head. Looking back at Ace, he said, “I’m surprised you two didn’t kill each other down there.”

Ace looked over at Summer, who just looked at him quietly. Ace looked back at Rowsdower and said, “Well, a lot had happened.”

Rowsdower only nodded and said, “Strax’un is following Monty and the Guard. Looks like we’re taking point three on our own.”

“What?” Ace gasped. He looked over at Summer again and she looked just as shocked as he was. He said to Rowsdower, “That stronghold will be guarded heavily and there’s only three of us! How are we going to take that point?”

Rowsdower rolled his eyes and said, “I asked Strax’un the same thing and you know what he said? ‘Improvise’.”

Ace groaned and shook his head. He looked at Summer, who crossed her arms. He sighed and looked out into the desert towards where they needed to go. There were mounds of boulders and crashed ships scattering the landscape.

Ace placed his hands on his hips and said, “Well, I guess we’ll think of something.”

With that, all three walked on into the desert.


	4. Brother and Sister

Summer, Rowsdower and Ace traversed along the crunchy sand along the putrid sea. The landscape ahead of them was mostly cleared except the remains of a crashed freighter, no markings and mostly rusted from exposure to the humidity. Rowsdower looked to the sky and commented that it wasn’t too for there being four suns. Neither Mandalorian remarked, but they were inclined to agree. They got closer and closer to the ship and Ace thought it would be a good idea to rest inside the hull to get out of the sun.

Then, there was a sound coming from the inside of the ship. It sounded like clattering and a low growl. Ace drew his pistols, Summer swung her pulse rifle around and Rowsdower raised his A280 rifle before dropping down to his knee and aiming. The Mandalorians joined him in aim and waited for who, or what, was in the ship to step out.

Then out came a large figure, covered from head to toe in tan fur. It was a Wookie. It stepped out and scanned the area, taking the three bounty hunters to notice. It looked into the ship and gave a loud roar. Then three more joined it, roaring at the three.

Ace lightly squeezed the triggers of his blasters, itching to fire. Rowsdower was ready to fire, but Summer stood in front of them both. Surprised and confused, they looked at her and lowered their weapons. She waved them down and turned back to see the three Wookies charging for them, carrying pipes and blades made from hull parts.

After the Wookies were a few yards from them, Summer gave a loud throaty roar.

The Wookies skid to a stop and gazed down at her. Ace and Rowsdower kept their weapons at the ready, but Summer lowered hers. She started to calmly communicate with the Wookies, using grunts and growls that simulated the sounds Wookies make. The large brutes tilted their heads as she spoke, registering what she was telling them. After she was done, they looked at each other and communicated. After a little bit, they looked down at her and growled. She nodded and looked back at Ace. He was still at the ready, but she gave him hand gestures. This was her way of communicating. Thankfully, Ace could understand what she was telling him and he could tell that she was telling him that the Wookies would allow them to rest in the ship. Ace told this to Rowsdower, but warned him to stay alert.

* * *

Inside the ship, the Wookies offered the three hunters a place to sit and offered them water. The Wookie told Summer, who translated to Ace, that they kept the water filtration system working and used it to convert the putrid sea water into fresh drinking water. The Wookies offered them water, but the Mandalorians refused. On the other hand, Ace insisted that Rowsdower take the drink to avoid offending them. The older bounty hunter quietly rebuked, but after the Wookies started to roar offensively, he agreed and took the cup. He hesitantly took the cup to his lips and sipped a bit of the water.

“Hm, it’s actually fresh.” He took a bigger sip and placed the cup on the table. He leaned over and asked Ace, “So, who are these Wookies?”

Summer heard his question and communicated with the lead Wookie and it responded calmly. When they were done, Summer did her signs for Ace and he told Rowsdower, “These Wookies were captured by the Empire five years ago and were sold to the Kessel mines. This ship was their transport when it was attacked by Rebel fighters and marooned them here.”

The Wookie roared more and Summer translated what it said.

“When they crash landed, there were over fifty Wookies. Now there are only five.”

Rowsdower looked over the Wookies and asked Summer, “What happened to the other Wookies?”

Summer roared, asking the Wookie what happened to the others. The Wookie said nothing, only looked away and whimpered. There was an eerie aura in the air from the Wookies, like something terrible that they should never repeat.

Ace said, “If I had to make a wild guess, I’d think that they needed to eat somehow.”

The Wookie roared at Ace and stood up, Ace standing and reaching for his blaster. Rowsdower stood up too, but Summer stood between Ace and the Wookie, stopping everyone. She urged him to move his hand away from his belt, to which he did. She looked back up at the Wookie and roared to it. It looked away for a moment then roared back. She looked back at Ace and gave him signs.

“What did she say?” Rowsdower asked.

Ace replied, “They did what they had to do to survive. What they did still haunts them to this day.”

Summer and the Wookie roared more and she signed again.

“It was only recently that they were able to break into the rations reserve. The unit was sealed tightly and they’d been trying to break it open ever since they landed. The salt air rusted the doors open and they managed to get in.”

Summer gave some more signs.

“They’re running low.”

Summer roared at the Wookie and the leader looked at the other Wookies. They tilted their heads then one of them nodded. The leader gave a nod and turned to communicate to Summer. She nodded and turned to sign Ace. Ace stepped back as she did.

“You can’t be serious.” he replied, only getting more aggressive hand signs. “Ugh, fine.”

“What? What’s going on?” Rowsdower asked.

Turning to face him, Ace told him, “She volunteered the Wookies to help us take the point if we take them off this moon.”

Rowsdower’s eyes widened then he glared at Summer, who only shrugged. He closed his eyes then gave a deep breath.

* * *

The third point erupted with blaster fire as the droogs fought the hunters and their new Wookie army. There was no element of surprise since the third point was a crashed freighter in the middle of the flat desert. The five Wookies started their rush with killing droogs for their blasters. Rowsdower, Summer and Ace fought back to back to back, Ace and Summer protecting Rowsdower with their beskar. Summer was finally firing with her pulse rifle, the blast powerful enough to eviscerate its targets. Despite the odds, the droogs’ conditions, the hunters’ edge and the Wookie’s drive to survive helped even the odds.

However through the chaos, no one noticed that a droog scaled atop the wreck where a mounted cannon was waiting. The droog perched himself and pointed down at the hunters. Ace looked up and saw that he was ready to fire. He pointed up at him and fired, narrowly missing his head. However, it did make him duck as he fired. It still got Ace, but the blast hit him hard on the left chest plate, making him slam to the ground. Summer and Rowsdower looked down at him before looking up at the droog, who was ready to fire again. Summer raised her rifle and shot the droog, his head being erased from the blast.

“Hey, you alright?” Rowsdower panicked as he pulled Ace up.

“Yeah, it got me in the beskar.” Ace said as he staggered and looked down at the plate. It was cracked and pulverized and the section of the collar over the plate was scorched and warped, but it didn’t even break through the flak vest. As the battle calmed, Ace muttered in Mando’a, “Vor entye, ba'buir.*”

Ace wanted to finish off the last droog for his troubles so he raised his pistol with his good hand and shot him point blank in the face. He looked around and saw the landscape littered with the dead. It was a good thing the droogs were lousy shots or else their Wookie comrades would be dead. The droogs were done so all that was left was to wipe out the lab.

* * *

Monty, Strax’un and the Republic officers had already returned to the ship when Summer, Ace and Rowsdower had returned with the Wookies. Though there were concerns from the ship’s crew, Rowsdower handled them. That meant he grabbed the ship’s captain by his shirt, held him against the wall and threatened him. Rowsdower’s mood wasn’t improved when he found the rest of the team already back and lounging about.

“Care to tell me what this is all about?” he asked Monty.

Looking up from his book, Monty said with little emotion or concern, “We took point two without any trouble. Strax’un met up with us with the rookies and took it no problem.”

“So you left us to take the most heavily guarded point by ourselves?”

“You did it, didn’t you?”

Now beyond livid, Rowsdower drew his blaster and shot Monty where he sat, making everyone get up in a frenzy. Strax’un also stood up, ready to attack Rowsdower. As the mulleted bounty hunter looked the Trandoshian’s way, Ace and Summer stood by him, drawing their pistols and shooting Strax’un at the same time. The rookies all stood back and watched what transpired in sheer terror, making it evident that this wasn’t what they signed on for. As they stood back, Ace and Summer spun their pistols before holstering them.

Noticing that the rookies, Rowsdower asked, “I guess we won’t see you back on Garduun?”

All three only shook their heads. Rowsdower rolled his eyes as he turned and wrapped his arms around the two Mandalorians and led them away.

* * *

With everyone gone from the waiting room, Ace took a moment to take his helmet off to take a breath. He groaned as he peeled the damaged plates off of him. The collar came off okay, but the left chest plate broke in half after the coupling detached. Still he collected them and placed them on the counter.

He went over to the sink and splashed some water in his face to cool himself off. After padding his face dry, he looked up in the mirror to see Summer standing behind him, her helmet in her arm as she smirked at him.

“How’d you get in here? I locked the door.” Ace questioned.

Summer replied, “Secret. And don’t worry, I locked it again.”

Ace tossed the towel and turned to face her. Her smirk changed to a childish smile. This was not the face of someone who not even two hours ago was blowing up an army of drugged up subhumans.

Yet, he had another question in his mind, “Why did you try to kill me?”

Summer’s smile faded awkwardly as she went to place her helmet on the table. When she turned, she told him, “Truth be told, I was hired to do so.”

Ace drew back in confusion and asked, “Are the other Mandalorians that desperate to kill me?”

“It wasn’t Mandalorians, it was Gratina Renliss.”

Ace’s eyebrows furrowed and he groaned, “That bitch.”

“If it makes you feel better, I won’t collect.”

“I suppose that does make me feel better.” Ace replied sarcastically. Taking a breath, he then asked, “What’s the price?”

“Your beskar’gam. They don’t have enough money to place a full bounty on you.”

“Then that means I have a chance.” Ace pondered what to do to avoid Gratina Renliss’ wrath. Her ideals may be flawed and her numbers might be small, but she was still cunning. There was only one option until he could come up with a plan. Ace handed the plates to Summer and told her, “Take these to Gratina. Tell her that’s all that’s left of me.”

Summer took the plates and looked down at them for a moment. Looking back up, she said, “It’s going to be hard to convince her you’re dead if you’re still walking around.”

“I’m going to do what I told a friend of mine when we took on Renliss. I’m going to lay low for a while.”

“And where do you think you can hide where House Renliss won’t find you?”

“I know some people on Galidraan. They owe me a favor.”

Summer nodded and placed the plates on the table next to them. She thought about Rowsdower and the rookies and asked, “What about the others? They’ll blab about how you’re still alive.”

“Not if we pay them. The rookies will say anything for the right price.”

“And Rowsdower?”

“Hard to say, but I’ll handle him.”

Summer looked back at Ace and asked, “Do you trust him?”

Shrugging, Ace replied, “He’s a hard man to read, but he did save our necks back there.”

Summer couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Though Rowsdower was a shrewd man, he could have left them in that hole to die. He stayed while Strax’un and the others left. She usually never directly talked to anyone she didn’t know or trust, but perhaps that could change for some people.

That’s when she remarked, “I noticed you didn’t question me not talking to Rowsdower.”

Ace just shrugged and said, “I don’t question anyone’s methods.”

“You’re not getting what I’m saying. I communicated with you directly while I had you speak for me to him.”

“Again, I don’t question. But, I’ll bite. Where is this going?”

“I don’t talk to or show my face to anyone I don’t trust. It’s a lesson we’re taught in the Legacy.”

“Yet you dropped that for me. Is it because I’m another Mandalorian?”

“It’s because you saved me. I tried to kill you and yet to saved me.”

“Like I said, that’s no way for a warrior like you to die.”

“You could have let me though. I can tell you have honor and true valor. Perhaps the rumors I heard about you are true.”

Confused, Ace asked, “And what rumors are those?”

Summer smiled and said, “That you let that girl on Galidraan go because it was a bad hunt. Any other hunter would have simply taken her in on principle.”

“There’s no honor in collecting a false reward on a young woman trying to escape.”

“I know. I heard that your claim led to the bounty placer now settled into a cozy cell on Oovo IV. Then I heard about what you did to Lucas Macnarra on Gyost. I know of the Rythulians as well. They're innocent people.”

“That’s why I did what I had to do.”

“I know.” She traced her finger along her cheek and remarked, “You helped him put on a happy face.”

Ace couldn’t help but chuckle at the remark. Hearing her talk and giving him praise like this, he felt a hint of pride. Hearing someone remarking his good deeds instead of the usual downcasting from onlookers about his career as a bounty hunter and the scorn from his fellow Mandalorians as he enacted the Creed while being nomad, he felt like he finally made a friend.

He must have had the look on his face, because she placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him. A comforting smile, like a sister cheering her brother on. She removed her hand and slipped her glove off.

“Take off your glove.” She said. Then she drew a knife. Ace knew what was going to happen. As he pulled his glove off, she slid the blade across her palm, proclaiming in Mando’a, “Tal be te vod.*”

She handed the knife to Ace and he replied as he slit his palm, “Tal be te vod.”

She reached out her hand and he gripped it, feeling the blood ooze between them. They both chanted, “Aliit cuyir or'atu than tal.*”

They parted and their palms were smeared in blood. What they had just done was a blood ritual that the Mando’ade in the ancient times would do. If there were Mandalorians that had a strong bond but weren’t family, they did this as a sign of mixing blood, thus making them officially blood family. This was proof that the two could trust each other. This was a sacred bond and if it was broken, then the wrath would be unbearable.

Summer pulled out a bandage and said before wrapping her hand, “We are now brother and sister.”

“Yeah.” Ace smiled as he pulled out a gauze roll. As they wrapped their hands, he asked, “So, what now?”

“Now? I take your plates to Renliss and you go into hiding for a while.”

“You going to be okay?”

Summer sneered at him and replied, “I’m a Legacy. I can handle myself.”

Ace rolled his eyes and tied the roll off. He then remembered, “There’s another hunter out there that Renliss might go after. See if you can draw attention away from them.”

“What’s the name?”

“Double Trouble.”

Summer gasped and asked, “You know Double Trouble?”

Drawing back, Ace replied, “Yeah. Do you?”

“They were the first one I ever showed my face to. We were on a job once with a friend of theirs. A young feline woman with different colored eyes.”

Ace thought for a moment, then shrugged and said, “Doesn’t ring any bells.”

“Well, Double Trouble’s one of the few people that can make me laugh. I trust them.”

Ace rolled his eyes again and quietly remarked, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

Summer ignored that last statement and said, “Well if Renliss goes after them, I’ll do my best to make sure she doesn’t follow their trail.”

“Good.” Ace then went to grab his helmet, taking a moment to gaze into the visor. He thought that with two of his plates damaged, it was time to make a change. He looked back up at Summer and said, “I better get going. I need to make a few stops before I ‘drop dead’.”

He slipped his helmet on and walked to the door.

“Kain, wait.” Ace turned around and saw that she had slipped her helmet on as well. She walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar of his flak vest and pulled him into her, smashing her helmet against his. He stumbled back and landed on the ground. Regaining his composure, he looked up at her and she said, “That’s for hitting me in the face.”

“Wha?” Ace groaned.

She then chuckled loudly as she walked out the door, leaving Ace on the floor, confused.

_Three days later..._

Summer dropped the beskar plates onto Gratina Renliss’ desk. The older woman looked them over and picked one of the half plates that was the left chest plate. She noticed the scorched marking and the extreme paint burning, indicating that it was hit hard by a cannon. She had come to the conclusion that Ace was now dead.

Gratina looked up at Summer and said, “There may not be much left, but you’re free to take this as payment. We’ll get you the rest once we acquire enough to compensate you. For now, all I can say is welcome to House Renliss.”

Summer said nothing. She just turned and walked out the door.

Once it was sealed, Renliss asked out loud, “Do you really think she killed him?”

Out of the shadows, the Mandalorian Executioner stepped and said, “Of course she didn’t. She may be a Legacy, but Dhrea is far too cunning to be killed by her. It’s possible that she formed an alliance with him.”

“I don’t know. Word’s already been getting around that Kain Dhrea is now dead.”

“Until I see his corpse, I say otherwise.” The Executioner turned to look out at the galaxy out the window. She ordered, “Have your hunters scatter through the Outer Rim. In case he’s alive, Dhrea might be hiding there. Start at Tatooine.”

Though Renliss didn’t like the orders she was given, hoping to start her way into eliminating the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, she knew better than to question the woman.

Standing and taking a breath, Gratina said, “As you wish, Countess Bat’ori.”

* * *

“ _As you wish, Countess Bat’ori_.” Summer’s transmitter played as her ship flew away from the skyhook. She had placed a tiny listening device on Ace’s plates that she left on Renliss’ desk.

That name, “Bat’ori”. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember from where. What was clear that the reason why Ace was being targeted was because of this Bat’ori, but why? What did he do?

She deserved answers, but she would have to find the answers on her own. She would seek Ace out since she knew he was on Galidraan by now, but to head there on her own would put his location in jeopardy. To even send a transmission was a risk. If she were to investigate this Bat’ori person, she’d need back and she knew where to go.

* * *

Summer wandered into the bar in the Promenade on Nar Shaddaa. Scanning the room, she saw who she came looking for. There was Rowsdower, sitting at the bar with a luminescent green drink in his hand. She walked his way and watched him gulp it down and call for another. When she towered over him, he looked back up at her, not even surprised to see her.

As she looked down at him, she asked, “Can I trust you?”

**Author's Note:**

> So, as mentioned before this story is a collab with my Baby Sister Serenity. She was interested in creating a character for my stories and I wanted to put her in somehow so we started working on creating a character for her. So, we created Summer, a name I usually called her during the summer (now I call her Autumn XP). I don't want to reveal too much about characterization because that would spoil the story, but I will reveal that her armor design is based off of the Legacy armor from the Star Wars EU. We were testing out armor designs and she liked the Legacy armor. My stories are a mix of new canon and the original expanded universe so I figured I'd bring that back for an elite group of Mandalorians. She has a certain way she wants the character to act so we'll be going more into social interactions and personalities next chapter. I just hope she likes how I put the character in the stories. If need be, I will change things up.
> 
> As far as the other characters go, I can say that Caven is another form of archetype that I don't like, cocky and egotistical and his attitude is based off of internet party boys. But don't worry, he won't be in the story long. The other rookies, I want to give them more personalities than what is shown here. 
> 
> Strax'un is kind of a frenemy to Ace and I will touch up on their relationship in other entries, but this story will focus on Ace and Summer.
> 
> For those who don't know, Rowsdower is from a movie called The Final Sacrifice, which was featured on the classic show Mystery Science Theater 3000. I don't know why, but I just felt like including him in the story, maybe even more in the future. And don't worry, he's not going to be a throw away character. He will be very important at the end. I won't include the Canadian Chuck Norris just to make him a boring sideline character.
> 
> Anyways, I'll hopefully get the next entry out soon. Peace.


End file.
